Setting realistic goals is an essential part of losing weight. Goals help you know what you want from your weight loss journey, where you are going, and what you are willing to do to get there.

Goal setting is accomplished through these three steps:

First, create a mental picture of where you are now, and where you want to be. Use photographs of yourself, both at your current weight, and at your ideal weight. Make this very concrete.

Second, write down your goals to add clarity and dimension.

The third step is to take action towards the achievement of your goals.

Setting SMART GOALS
Setting specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time driven (SMART) goals from the beginning of your Program is essential to your success. Here is what we mean by SMART goals:

Specific
Goals should be straightforward and emphasize what you want to happen. Instead of setting a goal to lose weight or be healthier, set a specific goal to lose 2 lbs per week or take off 2 inches on your waistline, or to walk 5 miles at a challenging pace.

Measurable
If you can't measure it, you won’t be able to manage it. For weight loss or inch loss you can measure it by the numbers on a scale or tape measure, or even a change in clothing size.

Achievable
Your goal should stretch you slightly but just enough to feel like you can accomplish it with a real commitment. For example, if you set a goal to lose 20 lbs in one week, we know that isn’t achievable, but setting a goal to lose 1 – 2 lbs per week is.

Realistic
Realistic doesn’t mean “easy.” Realistic, in this case, means "do-able." A goal of never again eating sweets, cakes, and chocolate may not be realistic for someone who really enjoys these foods. But, it may be more realistic to set a goal of eating a piece of fruit each day instead of one sweet item.

Time Driven
Setting a timeline for reaching your goal (i.e. in a week or over 12 weeks) will provide an end point and a clear target to work towards. If you don't set a time, the commitment will be too vague and lack a sense of urgency. Setting a clear timeline will help you to start taking action right away.

So get a SMART start on your Cinch transformation, and set goals that will help you to make a difference for your health and your life, through safe and healthy weight loss. And remember, Shaklee is there to support you every step of the way!

The topic came up in one of my linkedin groups. Posted was an instructor who said sparring was bad for your students. That it dumbed them down to playing a game of tag. It sounded like to me he doesn't know how to use sparring as a training tool.

Bruce Lee's art of Jeet Kune Do devoloped over his life from roof top challeges and sparring with private students at his home. That's where the real magic was made and technique plus application was tested. If you want to get any better than you need to spar.

What you need to know about sparring:

1. Your instructor is top authority. He has gone through this process himself and you need to trust his judgement.

2. Yes, you will get hit. That's part of growing pains and body hardening. Everyone has a plan until they get hit. This is how you tap into your fight intuition. Trust in the process.

3. Your opponent may not react as you plan. That doesn't mean he/she can't feel you so don't turn it up. Keep buddy preservation in mind at all times. You'll loose sparring partners faster that way.

4. Start with speed and power will come later.

I see it as two types of players. Those that train for tournaments, learn the rules and how to win by points. Second type, they are taking techinique, training, timing, etc into application and testing does this work in a real fight. Now, sparring is not a brawl...it's sparring to provide protection. Bruce was the first to apply protective gear in sparring becuase he knew no one really wins in a live fight. A 3 minute brawl can leave physical damage to last your life time. Before, martial art was tested in the feild and failure meant death. Today, we apply rules of buddy preservation and wear gear so we can try and try again. But you have to keep in mind if you think there is no risk you won't gain. Sparring is tool and not to replace the real thing. I'll give you an example. I hear a story of a petite, female tae kwon do student in a tournament. She was up against a tall gentleman (placed in her weight class being the only women fighting). She fought strong and hard, hitting the guy 10 to his one attempt. She lost the tournament because the guy would turn his back on her and get struck in the back of the head. That's a penalty to strike the back of the head. That guy was a player using the rules to win points. In a real fight, without head gear, if you get clocked in the back of the head you're knocked out on the ground. Wearing protective gear is not suppose to soften your integrity. Keep in mind that what felt like a tap to the head is a knockout in real life.

So, why should you be sparring? If you want to reach your full potential you need to spar, as simple as that. It's easy to find excusses. I didn't spar for years with the excuss that I didn't have health insurance in case of injury. Working as an electrician, my job was 100% physical. Injury ment no paycheck. I am sure you have your own that's stopping you from taking the next step. You have to dig deep and really think about where you want to go with your training. You've have already made a commitment so why not get the most out of your time. No one wants to get punched in the face but it's a risk you have to take to make any gains. Remember, you are not doing this alone. Trust in your instructor to keep the intensity appropriate and rules enforced.

Bruce Lee was a stickler on fitness. Dispite his picture perfect physique you see on the screen, he had is own personal obstacles to overcome. He was born with one leg longer than the other. He grew up as a small, skinny child and trained in wing chun to improve his health. His efforts had their rewards in addition a quick recovery from a back injury during a possible heavy, weight training session.

Fitness first was his motto to his new students and we want to imporve on that tradition. Its up to use to eat right and be fit for class. We want to make it easier for you. We have an open gym for all our members and are adding fitness classes to our schedule. Our monthly e-newsletter will provide you with snippets of information reach your full potential. We hope you'll take advantage.

Our facility provides a unique range of martial arts and fitness training. Don't be fooled by our front lobby. It was created to provide a calm calm location for parents to relax while watching their children in class. When entering the training floor your heart and creativity rise with our school colors of red and yellow. Heavy bags, TRX and fitness equipment are available for personal training or open mat time. Whether training for self-defense or fitness, you'll find something of your liking at Dragon Family Martial Arts and Fitness Center. Call for morning hours 816-536-7493.